now it sounds like a decent plan...........I would say a coach of decent size with slides in your area could be had in the 20k area.......keeping its age in the early 2000 area........less if you want to go without slides and keep it no older than 95............if your just going to do as you say and basically go into a trial mode and not really change anything but "the front door and the view" its very doable and thow in alot of boondocking and camping with a frugal budget....and even your debt level should go down. online dietician I think would do well , I pay a dietician now to balance my medical diets and it is all done online and some of my foods are purchased thru her also.....(all the food is dropshipped , so she collects a percentage without stocking!!)

I now feel better knowing your start point, and yes there are a few kinks to work out. and alot of research to secure a workable plan....but what you have now is a foundation to work from.


do your finacial planning first.......figure out a good budget, that is more than practical and build in a safe margin so you wont over extend yourself....................Remember if you make 40 k a year without a budget you will safely spend 40k a year.......make a budget and track every dollar spent and you can save 15k a year easy!!!!

-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Tuesday 13th of November 2012 07:53:31 PM

Hi Mike,

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and to reply, I appreciate it.

Our plans are to start the rving this spring, around May when winter is over, so we could enjoy it more here in the summer, and have more options to boondock and save a little for the winter after.

Meanwhile we can't leave the area we are living at right now, which is Alberta, Calgary area, as my husband works in Calgary full time job and we can't leave work till we know what is next...so in anyway, during the spring we plan to stay here in the Calgary area till the next winter, around Oct, or Nov2013.

We planned to boondock most of the times, leave for weekends to feel it more and do actual rving, and then during week days just basically boondock here and there in the Calgary area, while my husband still works full time in Calgary.

We thought that starting in spring for around half year would give us a chance to see what is rv, if we sort of like it and get along with it. We never tried rv before...

We don't want to spend money on renting rv to try, and have no one to  borrow it from to try.

Then when winter comes, we are hoping to  have a better idea of rving, if we like it or not, and what about the work, and determine then if we want to continue rving, stay in Canada rving , leave to USA  for the winter, or just quit and go back to rental...(that makes me sad).

We plan to have around the $6k as something aside, for emergency, only while we are still here and my husband still works full time, so that means a full income still enters every month. The emergency is for god forbidden if he gets fired which you never know...

We have a network marketing business we are building as well to back us with the income situation.

We have no family here in Canada that can help us in any way, that means we will have to put our stuff in storage and pay it monthly, and if something happens we have no back up. That part is scary but we are kind of used to it, as we came here to Canada all by ourselves 10 years ago and made our way till today.

Since we are new here in this province we don't really have friends either, so basically we need to think 10 times on every step before we make it to be on the safe side.

I don't mean to say that we should be dependent on other people, but I think that the normal person has some kind of family or friend to get some help in bad times, we don't have this privilege. That is why it is easier for us to just leave a place, no obligations.

I have 2 teen girls, age 16 and 19 that are thrilled to do it as well, however we need to see how they will feel after the spring.

I have also 2 dogs with me, but that is the easy part...

My husband used to work in construction, more the residential renovation I would say, so this is something he can do aside if needed, depends where we will be and if opportunities come.

I am a dietitian and plan to start a business online, but this is just an idea and will take time, if any at all, till will generate  some income. Meanwhile we need to rely on my husband's income, and stay here in the Calgary area.

We currently have a van which we plan to trade in for a small family car and buy with cash, so no loan on it. But this will work only if we buy a motorhome as we have no pick up truck.

So if we plan to buy trailer or fifth wheel, we would need a pick up truck and a trailer or fifth wheel to finance, which will be a big loan to handle. That is why we thought to buy small car with cash, and finance the motorhome with almost 100% finance. We plan to stay with in the $30k or less for motorhome, that leaves us with few options.

That is our story, in short, if we can say short...I hope that helps a little. If you would like to know more, just ask me, I would be more than happy to provide any info that would help you guys to help me to decide...

 

I know it is a personal decision and it is hard for an outsider, especially a person who has never known us, to make any decision, but I am asking for your input based on your experience and I am sure you must have a lot more than me...Basically any info and input would be helpful for us.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my long message, I appreciate your time, and am hoping to hearing back from you.

Have a great evening!

 

 

 

Ok a found a few in the Edmonton area 32 -36 ft.....Im hoping the prices are in Canadian and not USD.....found a really nice older diesel at 11,500......that is a great deal.........with 4 people though we are going to need 3 sleeping areas.....so normally you have bedroom, table booth , & jacknife coach or pullout......this means kinda cramp in the am in the living area.....I would suggest an awning Add a room to give you more portable living space ...

95 is the year at this time I lock out at only because anything I buy is an investment.....I prefer a return on my investments but hate taking a loss.

95 five would put the coach at 17 years old....if it has high miles, That means its ready for problems and some of them are likely to not be minor.

if it has super low miles, it sat first thing I would do is be looking real hard underneath for frame and support rot, delamination on fiberglass and condensation issues. unless it was stored indoors, you are in the greater north which has some pretty abusive wet weather a simple pinhole in the skin allows moisture in then it freezes and expands.condensation will create frost heaves. plastics and metals contract and expand..........not to mention if you dont run the motor and transmission seals start to dry out. bearings start to corrode & dry out....

these are things to watch for not to scare you off.........the more you know the less you miss!!!!

as far as a toy hauler.....that is a personal preference , you will look at alot of floor plans until you narrow it down to the type that will work for you.

as far as one brand being better than another..........We all would love to be driving a Provost Quad slide, but most start used with a 600k pricetag and new 1.5 to 2 million!!!! LOL


what you can afford will again dictate what you will buy.

gas over diesel my opinion........gas engine over 100,k is getting ready for a new drive train.......diesel over 100,k is just broke in and ready to go!!!!.........again it will depend on your budget, there is a big difference in price between the 2


this is only my opinion........the dog tends to snore when Im talking to her, so take in only so much of it.......and hopefully it will make you research harder!!!